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Government Terms

﻿Chapter 1: Introducing Government in America
Terms:1. Democracy: A system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences. 2. Elite and class theory: A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization. 3. Government: The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society. 4. Hyperpluralism: A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened. Hyperpluralism is an extreme, exaggerated, or perverted form of pluralism. 5. Individualism: The belief that people can and should get ahead on their own. 6. Linkage institutions: The channels or access points through which issues and people’s policy preferences get on the government’s policy agenda. In the United States, elections, political parties, interest groups, and the mass media are the three main linkage institutions. 7. Majority rule: A fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory. In a democracy, choosing among alternatives requires that the majority’s desire be respected. 8. Minority Rights: A principle of traditional of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to majorities and allows that they might join majorities through persuasion and reasoned argument. 9. Pluralist theory: A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies. 10. Policy agenda: The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given point in time. 11. Policy gridlock: A condition that occurs when no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy. The result is that nothing may get done. 12. Policy impacts: The...

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...agenda will be distorted-the government will not be addressing the issues that the public as a whole feels are most important
5. Inconclusion
The government must include, and extend rights to, all those subject to its laws. Citizenship must be open to all within a nation if the nation is to call itself democratic
2. Describe each “non-traditional” theories of government and draw a visual picture of each.
Pluralism:
A theory of American democracy emphasizing that the policymaking process is very open to the participation of all groups shared interests, with no single group usually dominating. Pluralists tend to believe that as a result, public interest generally prevails
Hyperpluralism
A theory of American democracy contending that groups are so strong that government, which gives into many different groups, is thereby weakened
Elite/Class
A theory of American democracy contending that an upper-class elite holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization
3. List and give an example of each challenge to democracy. Come up with one of your own that is not listed in the text/video.
Challenge
Example
Increased complexity of issues
Welfare, agricultural price supports, foreign competition, and hundreds of other issues
Limited participation in government
Know little of who their leaders are, low voting rates, don’t...

...Contemporary Civilizations
GENERAL WILL & MAJORITY RULE
Jean-Jacques Rousseau on the Institute of Government
Rousseau’s notion of General Will possesses a direct correlation to the idea of general welfare and the common interests of a people as a whole. In On The Social Contract he explains the philosophy being the idea of General Will by stating that "So long as several men together consider themselves to be a single body, they have but a single will, which is concerned with their common preservation and the general well-being" (Social Contract IV.1). This implies that the General Will is the natural and instinctive desire of all people within a group to act in favor of the perpetuation and common good of the group as a whole. In his discussion on General Will, Rousseau states directly that the General Will “is always right and always tends towards public unity” (Social Contract II.3). In theory, the validation of this claim can be supported by his further elaboration about the fact that “there is a great deal of difference between the will of all and the general will. The latter considers only the general interests, whereas the former considers private interests and is merely the sum of private wills” (Social Contract II.3). By this explanation the General Will consists only of the desires of the populations completely devoid of private interest. In many ways, this makes the General Will and extremely theoretical concept, as it involves an...

...﻿ There are many types of different governments throughout the world. Democracy and Dictatorship are the two that I have found to be the most interesting. Democracy is a government is which the people in the country get to vote for the person they think has the most knowledge and that can run the government the efficient. In this type of government every citizen of the country has basic human rights that cannot be taken from them. When a government is a democracy it is ran by one person known as the president. In Greek the word democracy means “rule by the people”. A dictatorship government is an autocratic form of government. When a government is a dictatorship it is ran by one person or a group of people. Above the group there is one person that holds all the power and he can take or give anything to the people in his country. The leader of this type of government lives in luxury while all his people live in fear of the power the leader holds. The first dictatorship government was started with the Roman Empire. A dictator is not chosen he places himself at the top of everyone else. Dictators may attain power in a number of different ways such as family dictatorship in which they inherit power through family ties, military dictatorship which is when the new leader obtains his or her power through military force orcoup d’etat. In...

...POLITICAL PARTY PROGRESSION IN TEXAS
GOVERNMENT
The Political Party Progression in Texas
Do the political parties affect policy making and Implementation? The text explained the history of the Texas Party System and how much it has changed, how it will continue to change, and how these changes affect Texas Policymaking.
The Texas Political Party System and its supporting individuals have changed over the years. At one time the south was considered to be mostly Democratic. As the south began to become affected by the Civil War and continued on through the Reconstruction, the South became the one-party Democratic South. This situation changed drastically in the year 2002 when the “Grand Old Party (GOP)” captured the majority of the seats in the Texas House. Furthermore, the GOP was a nickname for the Republican Party in Texas. The GOP could continually count on the loyalty of African Americans, German Americans livining in the Hill Country who had opposed secession before the Civil War, and few others.
Additionally, the Republication Party more than doubled in Texas going from thirty-five members up to seventy-two members between the years of 1981 and 2001.
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...and (c) Great Compromise?
a.) Proposal to create a strong national government.
b.) Proposal to create a weak national government.
c.) Plan to have a popularly elected house based on state population and a state-selected senate, with two members of each state.
11. Define and give the significance of (a) republics, (b) judicial review, (c) federalism, (d) enumerated powers, (e) reserved powers, and (f) concurrent powers.
a.) A government in which elected representatives make the decisions.
b.) the power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional.
c.) Government authority shared by national and local governments.
d.) Powers given to the national government alone.
e.) Powers given to the state government alone.
f.) Powers shared by the national and state governments.
12. What did the framers of the Constitution think about human nature? Thought people were ambitious and self-interested. They thought that people want power and want control.
13. Define and explain the significance of (a) separation of powers and (b) factions.
a.) Constitutional authority is shared by three different branches of government. ; it helps avoid the misuse and abuse of power given to a person or group and it distinguishes the different and separate groups including their responsibilities and limits.
b.) A group with a distinct political interest....

...White Paper: A Recommendation for Xlandia
Every Government needs a framework in order for them to efficiently work, regulate, and rule the masses. This framework is known as a Constitution, and it is a set of fundamental principles created according to the desires and needs of those involved in its forging. Now Government power is limited when there is a mutual respect on the restraints on power, a constitution with legal limits on power, individual rights are protected in the constitution, and in all there is a status quo for promoting what is best for everyone. To add to this there is a separation of powers and the power must be shared. However, the polar opposite of a limited government is an unlimited government which includes two types, an Authoritarian and Totalitarian. Within a Totalitarian government, there is one dominant leader supported by a mass party, the media is controlled, there is no opposition allowed, terror is used to maintain power, and individual behavior is controlled. In an Authoritarian government, it is controlled by a single person or a dominant elite, the military shows full support, the government itself is not accountable for its actions, the media can be censored, and the public is not allowed to criticize the government.
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...101 8:20
Final SA 3
“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both. “(Benjamin Franklin)
Government Surveillance
According to Article IV of the Constitution of the United States, The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. (Declaration 83)
Surveillance is presenting numerous challenges to our right to privacy. The National Security Agency or NSA is amassing private information about Americans. (Heuvel par. 3) Emails, phone calls and other forms of communication are being monitored. Unless we the American voters demand of our elected officials that they curtail the unwarranted surveillance by our government on American citizens, the current state of affairs is nothing but a prelude to our Government usurping our liberty of privacy we are likely to descend into a total surveillance state.
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...Introduction to Philippine Government
Lesson 1
What is Political Science ?
• Political – Greek word • “POLIS” - means – A CITY / SOVEREIGN STATE
• Science – Latin word • SCIRE - means - TO KNOW
Therefore…...
• It is a basic knowledge and understanding of the state and its ideals • Association of human beings into a “body politic”
• Political community- organized under government and law
• The relations among people control by the state; state to other state
Scope of Political Science
• This include courses in: 1. Political Theory 2. Public Law 3. Public Administration 4. Other specialized subject
Political Theory
Public Law
• Organization of governments • Limitation upon government authority • Powers and duties of governmental offices and officers • Obligation of one state to another These are the study of public law
• The doctrines relating to the origin, form, behavior, and purpose of the state.
Public Administration
• Focus upon the methods and and technique used in the actual management of state affairs by • Executive; • Legislative; • Judiciary branches of government
Other branches of learning
History
• “History is past politics and politics present history” • Political scientist frequently adopts a “historical approach”
Economics
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